Comedy nerds were probably hoping that Hasan Minhaj would use his new Netflix special to address the New Yorker hit job that cost him a job headlining The Daily Show. Like John Mulaney sharing his rehab trials in Baby J or Richard Pryor talking about his near-death experience in Live on the Sunset Strip, real-life travails often make for scintillating comedy. The good news: Minhaj does devote a segment of Off With His Head to venting his comedic outrage. The bad news: He lets everyone off easy before quickly moving on to less interesting subjects.
The elephant in the room doesn’t even get acknowledged for the first quarter of the special, but 17 minutes in, Minhaj finally gives the people what they want. “I don’t know if you saw last year,” he begins with a grin. “The New Yorker fact-checked my stand-up comedy. They were just like, ‘Ho ho ho!
The elephant in the room doesn’t even get acknowledged for the first quarter of the special, but 17 minutes in, Minhaj finally gives the people what they want. “I don’t know if you saw last year,” he begins with a grin. “The New Yorker fact-checked my stand-up comedy. They were just like, ‘Ho ho ho!
- 10/23/2024
- Cracked
For comedy fans of a certain age, watching VHS copies of the 1982 concert film “Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip” until the tape fell off of the spools was a rite of passage. Until Eddie Murphy‘s “Raw” dethroned it later in the 1980s, it was the most successful stand-up special of all time, and understandably so; marking Pryor‘s return to the stage after the freebasing accident that almost killed him, it was not only hilarious but revealing and poignant — the passage toward the end of the film in which Pryor personifies his crack pipe and acts out his own struggles with it is one of the most potent depictions of addiction ever put on screen.
The problem is that those VHS copies, as well as the blurry transfers on cable television where “Sunset Strip” was a staple for years, captured the greatness of Pryor’s performance but...
The problem is that those VHS copies, as well as the blurry transfers on cable television where “Sunset Strip” was a staple for years, captured the greatness of Pryor’s performance but...
- 9/6/2024
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
The theatrically released stand-up comedy movie has pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur, thanks to cable and streaming. Which is too bad, because big-screen stand-up releases allow viewers to laugh along with a crowd. Or, in some cases, sit in a prolonged, uncomfortable silence with a crowd:
Inarguably one of the biggest stand-up movies ever released was 1982’s Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip. But it was very nearly a disaster.
Live on the Sunset Strip was a comeback of sorts for Pryor, a return to the stage after he famously lit himself on fire in 1980 while freebasing cocaine. In his four-star review of the film, legendary critic Roger Ebert noted that Pryor was “clearly nervous,” but he eventually witnessed “the emergence of a Richard Pryor who is older, wiser, and funnier than before,” adding that “the last 50 or 60 minutes of this film are extraordinary.”
Live at the Sunset Strip,...
Inarguably one of the biggest stand-up movies ever released was 1982’s Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip. But it was very nearly a disaster.
Live on the Sunset Strip was a comeback of sorts for Pryor, a return to the stage after he famously lit himself on fire in 1980 while freebasing cocaine. In his four-star review of the film, legendary critic Roger Ebert noted that Pryor was “clearly nervous,” but he eventually witnessed “the emergence of a Richard Pryor who is older, wiser, and funnier than before,” adding that “the last 50 or 60 minutes of this film are extraordinary.”
Live at the Sunset Strip,...
- 7/6/2024
- Cracked
Before deciding on comedy as his true calling, Martin Lawrence seriously considered a career as a professional boxer, even becoming a Golden Gloves contender. He credits that pugilistic discipline for equipping him with the resilience and tenacity necessary to survive in the entertainment industry.
“Boxing gave me the training, the consistency and, most importantly, the focus,” Lawrence tells Variety. “To study your craft, to want to be good at your craft and to be excellent at it — you can reach them at heights and just be the best that you could be.”
Lawrence went the distance and then some in his 30-plus-year career in stand-up comedy, television and film. He’ll celebrate those accomplishments April 20 with one of the industry’s most iconic honors: a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The tribute wasn’t a prize he’d always had his eye on, but he admits it’s...
“Boxing gave me the training, the consistency and, most importantly, the focus,” Lawrence tells Variety. “To study your craft, to want to be good at your craft and to be excellent at it — you can reach them at heights and just be the best that you could be.”
Lawrence went the distance and then some in his 30-plus-year career in stand-up comedy, television and film. He’ll celebrate those accomplishments April 20 with one of the industry’s most iconic honors: a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The tribute wasn’t a prize he’d always had his eye on, but he admits it’s...
- 4/20/2023
- by Scott Huver
- Variety Film + TV
This weekend brought some welcome news: Ben Affleck’s latest, “The Accountant” (Warner Bros.), came in better than expected. And though “Kevin Hart: What Now?” (Universal) grossed only about half as much, they both did well compared to their cost.
But the overall box office continues to lag against 2015’s peak record numbers, dominated by such fourth-quarter entries as “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” a Bond film and the final “Hunger Games.” It’s hard to imagine that 2016 totals can beat them, even with Marvel’s “Doctor Strange” in early November, J.K. Rowling’s latest “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” from Warners and Disney’s “Moana” closer to Thanksgiving.
The Top Ten (+1)
1. The Accountant (Warner Bros.) New – Cinemascore: A; Metacritic: 51; Est. budget: $45 million
$24,715,000 in 3,332 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $7,417; Cumulative: $24,715,000
2. Kevin Hart: What Now? (Universal) New – Cinemascore: A- ; Metacritic: 61; Est. budget: $10 million
$11,894,000 in 2,568 theaters; PTA:...
But the overall box office continues to lag against 2015’s peak record numbers, dominated by such fourth-quarter entries as “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” a Bond film and the final “Hunger Games.” It’s hard to imagine that 2016 totals can beat them, even with Marvel’s “Doctor Strange” in early November, J.K. Rowling’s latest “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” from Warners and Disney’s “Moana” closer to Thanksgiving.
The Top Ten (+1)
1. The Accountant (Warner Bros.) New – Cinemascore: A; Metacritic: 51; Est. budget: $45 million
$24,715,000 in 3,332 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $7,417; Cumulative: $24,715,000
2. Kevin Hart: What Now? (Universal) New – Cinemascore: A- ; Metacritic: 61; Est. budget: $10 million
$11,894,000 in 2,568 theaters; PTA:...
- 10/16/2016
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Join us for some old-school 16mm Movie Madness! – It’s our monthly 16Mm Double Feature Night at The Way Out Club (2525 Jefferson Avenue in St. Louis)! Join Tom Stockman and Roger from “Roger’s Reels’ for a double feature of two complete films projected on 16mm film. The show is Tuesday July 5th and starts at 8pm. Admission is Free though we will be setting out a jar to take donations for the National Children’s Cancer Society.
“Klaatu barada nikto!”
First up is: The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
The sci-fi parable The Day The Earth Stood Still starring Oscar winner Patricia Neal tells the story of Klaatu, a visitor from another world (played by Michael Rennie) with his allmighty robot Gor who land unexpectedly at the White House to stop people from expanding the human violence beyond frontiers of the planet Earth. When he sees that he cannot...
“Klaatu barada nikto!”
First up is: The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
The sci-fi parable The Day The Earth Stood Still starring Oscar winner Patricia Neal tells the story of Klaatu, a visitor from another world (played by Michael Rennie) with his allmighty robot Gor who land unexpectedly at the White House to stop people from expanding the human violence beyond frontiers of the planet Earth. When he sees that he cannot...
- 6/30/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Since any New York cinephile has a nearly suffocating wealth of theatrical options, we figured it’d be best to compile some of the more worthwhile repertory showings into one handy list. Displayed below are a few of the city’s most reliable theaters and links to screenings of their weekend offerings — films you’re not likely to see in a theater again anytime soon, and many of which are, also, on 35mm. If you have a chance to attend any of these, we’re of the mind that it’s time extremely well-spent.
Metrograph
It’s a very De Palma weekend, with Dressed to Kill showing this Friday, Scarface and Blow Out on Saturday, and The Fury this Sunday.
Looney Tunes: Back In Action screens on Saturday.
Underground New York filmmaker Beth B. is celebrated in a weekend-long retrospective.
A new 16mm print of Kapauku plays on Sunday.
BAMcinématek...
Metrograph
It’s a very De Palma weekend, with Dressed to Kill showing this Friday, Scarface and Blow Out on Saturday, and The Fury this Sunday.
Looney Tunes: Back In Action screens on Saturday.
Underground New York filmmaker Beth B. is celebrated in a weekend-long retrospective.
A new 16mm print of Kapauku plays on Sunday.
BAMcinématek...
- 6/10/2016
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Who's Afraid of Richard Pryor's Sneakers? continues at Trailers from Hell with screenwriter Larry Karaszewski introducing "Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip," Pryor's now classic "concert" film wherein he prowls the stage of the Hollywood Paladium for 82 remarkable minutes, gleefully riffing on the roller-coaster turns of his tumultuous personal life (including his cocaine addiction and self-immolation) while effortlessly embodying a multitude of characters, in particular his guilt-tripping friend Jim Brown and the grizzeled sidewalk philosopher, “Mudbone”. Sidesplitting and enormously touching, Pryor and his foulmouthed poetry were embraced by audiences across the board.
- 11/27/2013
- by Trailers From Hell
- Thompson on Hollywood
Chicago – One of the most remarkable and influential elements of Richard Pryor’s groundbreaking stand-up comedy was how completely bare he laid himself on stage through his art. He held nothing back. He shared not only jokes but personal stories, including the dark stuff. And so when Shout Factory named their massive tribute to the comedian “Life in Concert,” they got something absolutely right. You do get a glimpse into Pryor’s life through these seven CDs and two DVDs, capturing eight of his hit albums, three concert specials, and compilation appearances. “No Pryor Restraint” also includes two hours of previously unreleased stand-up performances and rare recordings. It’s a gift to comedy fans.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
Shout Factory really knows how to do these CD/DVD tributes right. They produced an amazing one in “The Incredible Mel Brooks” and this gorgeously packaged (it’s like a hardcover book) set is nearly its match.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
Shout Factory really knows how to do these CD/DVD tributes right. They produced an amazing one in “The Incredible Mel Brooks” and this gorgeously packaged (it’s like a hardcover book) set is nearly its match.
- 6/20/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – It’s that time of year, the one in which you have to decide if you’re willing to think outside of the tie box when it comes to getting your pop something for Father’s Day. Another pair of socks? Or how about something he’ll appreciate? A movie? A TV series? A box set? Studios have been populating New Releases shelves over the last few weeks with enough product that there’s something for every dear old dad out there. Here’s your guide to some of the latest and greatest.
If Dad’s a TV Fan
House of Cards
Photo credit: Sony
If your pop likes his television in series set form, there are plenty of options this month to tie up his weekend. Want him off your back for a few days? Some of the absolute best programming of the 2012-13 season was recently released...
If Dad’s a TV Fan
House of Cards
Photo credit: Sony
If your pop likes his television in series set form, there are plenty of options this month to tie up his weekend. Want him off your back for a few days? Some of the absolute best programming of the 2012-13 season was recently released...
- 6/11/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – A bit too much of “Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic,” premiering tonight, May 31, 2013, on Showtime, is devoted to adoration of its subject matter from his peers and friends, and not enough insight is offered into from where the true talent or serious demons of the man originated. Perhaps no one really knows. Perhaps people as talented and as troubled as Richard Pryor are impossible to decipher. As a showcase of Pryor’s talent and influence, “Omit the Logic” is undeniably fun. It just feels a little slight given the massive cultural influence of its subject matter.
Television Rating: 3.0/5.0
“Omit the Logic” features interviews with people who knew and worked with Pryor like Paul Mooney, Mel Brooks, and Jesse Jackson, along with those influenced by him over the years like Dave Chappelle and Whoopi Goldberg. The lesser-known personalities interviewed, the people who were actually closest to Pryor, offer the most...
Television Rating: 3.0/5.0
“Omit the Logic” features interviews with people who knew and worked with Pryor like Paul Mooney, Mel Brooks, and Jesse Jackson, along with those influenced by him over the years like Dave Chappelle and Whoopi Goldberg. The lesser-known personalities interviewed, the people who were actually closest to Pryor, offer the most...
- 5/31/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Stand-up comedy is one of the most beloved art forms there is, and it's also one of the most difficult to master. For every Louis C.K., there are a hundred Jeff Dunhams. People often make lists of the best comedians of all time, or the best comedy albums, but when it comes to actual comedy TV specials, which is what every comedian strives for these days to get into heavy rotation on Comedy Central, it's a different story. There's a million of them - some are good, some are decent, some are iffy, and some are awful. Here, however, are some of the most innovative, groundbreaking comedy specials that have ever been made - shows you should really see if you're a fan of comedy at all (Note: specials are listed chronologically).
[#1-5] [#6-10] [Index]
George Carlin at USC (1977)
Any mention of innovative comedy specials has to start with George Carlin, who forged...
[#1-5] [#6-10] [Index]
George Carlin at USC (1977)
Any mention of innovative comedy specials has to start with George Carlin, who forged...
- 10/12/2011
- by IFC
- ifc.com
On May 18, old-school soul fans can purchase a slice of music history in the form of a 2-cd box set featuring the recordings of a series of 1966 live performances by Otis Redding at Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles. Live On The Sunset Strip covers three live sets, sequenced exactly as the sets unfolded, including Redding’s spoken intros. The set also includes a booklet with rare photos and liner note commentary by NPR Morning Edition‘s Ashley Kahn. “In 1966, Redding was 24 and defined not only the sound but the style and look of a true soul...
- 4/16/2010
- Pastemagazine.com
Richard Pryor, one of the most groundbreaking comedians of the late 20th century, died Saturday morning of a heart attack at his home in the San Fernando Valley; he was 65. Pryor had been suffering from multiple sclerosis for years, and according to his wife Jennifer Pryor, passed away very quickly with little suffering. Born in Peoria, Illinios, Pryor reportedly grew up in a brothel run by his grandmother, and was performing at as young an age as 7, when he played drums for a nightclub. After graduating high school and serving two years in the army, Pryor began his comedy career in the 60s, working in nightclubs and earning a reputation for himself. Soon talk show and variety show appearances led to small parts in movies throughout the late 60s and early 70s, with a noteworthy supporting role opposite Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues (1972). He also wrote for a number of television shows, including Sanford and Son, and worked on the script for Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles. Pryor skyrocketed to fame, however, on the strength, appeal, and hilarity of his stand-up performances, which challenged the establishment at a time when censorship laws still held sway, and his explicit, profane routines, centering on racial and sexual topics and everything in between, won him both controversy and fame. He also became a highly popular (and highly paid) actor in the 70s, with hit films such as Silver Streak to his credit and a controversial TV show on NBC. His biggest film success, though, was with a concert film of his stand-up routines, and Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979) remains one of his best and one of the most influential comedy films of all time. Just as his fame reached its zenith in 1980 (the year the hit film Stir Crazy was released), Pryor almost lost his life in a notorious drug-related accident, as he suffered burns on over 50% of his body while freebasing cocaine at home. The incident began Pryor's long road to recovery, and he talked and joked freely about it in his next concert film, Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip. Free to make whatever films he liked, Pryor signed a $40 million, five-year contract with Columbia Pictures in 1983, which took him from cult hero to mainstream star, though the movies, including Superman III, The Toy and Brewster's Millions, diluted his considerable talent. He had more critical, if not commercial, success with two autobiographical-influenced films, Some Kind of Hero and Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, a thinly fictionalized biopic. By the late 80s, though, Pryor's films were becoming bigger and bigger failures, and he all but retired from performing in the 90s, after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis; in 1990 he suffered a massive heart attack and underwent triple bypass surgery. He made a brief appearance in the film Lost Highway, and did a guest stint on Chicago Hope, which earned him an Emmy nomination, but rarely worked; in 1998, he received the first Mark Twain Prize for humor from the JFK Center for the Performing Arts. He married six times, and had two sons and three daughters, including actress Rain Pryor. Pryor is survived by his wife Jennifer, who was his fourth wife and whom he remarried in 2001. --Prepared by IMDb staff...
- 12/10/2005
- IMDb News
Comedian Richard Pryor Dies at 65
Richard Pryor, one of the most groundbreaking comedians of the late 20th century, died Saturday morning of a heart attack at his home in the San Fernando Valley; he was 65. Pryor had been suffering from multiple sclerosis for years, and according to his wife Jennifer Pryor, passed away very quickly with little suffering. Born in Peoria, Illinios, Pryor reportedly grew up in a brothel run by his grandmother, and was performing at as young an age as 7, when he played drums for a nightclub. After graduating high school and serving two years in the army, Pryor began his comedy career in the 60s, working in nightclubs and earning a reputation for himself. Soon talk show and variety show appearances led to small parts in movies throughout the late 60s and early 70s, with a noteworthy supporting role opposite Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues (1972). He also wrote for a number of television shows, including Sanford and Son, and worked on the script for Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles. Pryor skyrocketed to fame, however, on the strength, appeal, and hilarity of his stand-up performances, which challenged the establishment at a time when censorship laws still held sway, and his explicit, profane routines, centering on racial and sexual topics and everything in between, won him both controversy and fame. He also became a highly popular (and highly paid) actor in the 70s, with hit films such as Silver Streak to his credit and a controversial TV show on NBC. His biggest film success, though, was with a concert film of his stand-up routines, and Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979) remains one of his best and one of the most influential comedy films of all time. Just as his fame reached its zenith in 1980 (the year the hit film Stir Crazy was released), Pryor almost lost his life in a notorious drug-related accident, as he suffered burns on over 50% of his body while freebasing cocaine at home. The incident began Pryor's long road to recovery, and he talked and joked freely about it in his next concert film, Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip. Free to make whatever films he liked, Pryor signed a $40 million, five-year contract with Columbia Pictures in 1983, which took him from cult hero to mainstream star, though the movies, including Superman III, The Toy and Brewster's Millions, diluted his considerable talent. He had more critical, if not commercial, success with two autobiographical-influenced films, Some Kind of Hero and Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, a thinly fictionalized biopic. By the late 80s, though, Pryor's films were becoming bigger and bigger failures, and he all but retired from performing in the 90s, after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis; in 1990 he suffered a massive heart attack and underwent triple bypass surgery. He made a brief appearance in the film Lost Highway, and did a guest stint on Chicago Hope, which earned him an Emmy nomination, but rarely worked; in 1998, he received the first Mark Twain Prize for humor from the JFK Center for the Performing Arts. He married six times, and had two sons and three daughters, including actress Rain Pryor. Pryor is survived by his wife Jennifer, who was his fourth wife and whom he remarried in 2001. --Prepared by IMDb staff...
- 12/9/2005
- WENN
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